Former UK attorney general says British Christians forced to hide beliefs

({hoto: REUTERS / Carl Court)Britain's Attorney General Dominic Grieve gives his closing statement at the end of the Ukrainian Forum on Asset Recovery in London April 30, 2014. Organized by Britain and the United States and attended by representatives from 35 countries, the forum aimed at helping Ukraine's government recover money from President Viktor Yanukovich, who was toppled in February after months of street protests, and those close to him. Ukraine's chief prosecutor has accused Yanukovich of being used to fund Russian-backed separatists.

A former UK attorney general says in an interview that Christians in Britain are forced to hide their beliefs because of an "aggressive form of secularism" to "push faith out of the public sphere."

Dominic Grieve, a practicing Anglican, said he finds it unnatural for people to be persecuted for expressing their beliefs in an interview with The Telegraph newspaper in Britain on 23 August.

He noted that some public sector workers have been disciplined for displaying their faith at work.

There were also high profile cases where people have been banned from wearing crosses at work or dismissed for not doing tasks that are against their religious beliefs.

Grieve believes that Christianity is a "powerful force for good" in modern Britain and Christians should stand on what they believe.

"It doesn't mean that we have the monopoly of wisdom, but I do think Christianity has played an enormous role in shaping this country."

He noted that politicians should also not be intimidated of "doing God" in the decisions they make.

Grieve lost his government post during a cabinet reshuffle in July after opposing plans to give British lawmakers powers to veto decisions made by the European Court of Human Rights.

It was Tony Blair's publicist, Alastair Campbell, who said that his administration didn't "do God" due to concerns that religion would put off voters.

"I think politicians should express their faith. I have never adhered to the Blair view that we don't do God, indeed I'm not sure that Blair does. I think that people with faith have an entitlement to explain where that places them in approaching problems," he told The Telegraph.

Religion does seem to take a backseat in UK politics. Two the three major party leaders, Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats and Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, are self-proclaimed atheists.

Prime Minister David Cameron who sometimes attends Church of England services has said that his own faith is "like patchy reception of Magic FM in the Chilterns... it comes and goes."

However, earlier this year Cameron stated that he had found greater strength in religion and suggested that Britain should be unashamedly "evangelical" about its Christian faith.

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